Mary Ellen Hoyer

MARY ELLEN HOYER Iowa City Mary Ellen Hoyer, 80, died peacefully Thursday, April 18, 2019, at the Bird House Hospice surrounded by her family. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 24, 2019, at St. Patrick's Church with Father Ed Fitzpatrick and the Very Rev. Rudolph Juarez concelebrating. Visitation will be Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City, where a rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m. Burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Regina Foundation or the Bird House Johnson County Hospice. Mary Ellen was born on March 29, 1939. She was the daughter of Michael and Viola (Eagle) Ryan. They lived on a farm near Solon. Mary was a graduate of Solon High School and the Mercy School of Nursing. On Feb. 13, 1965, Mary married Thomas O. Hoyer. Mary was employed as a nurse at UIHC and Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids and was a case manager at VAMC. She also had taught in the nursing program at Kirkwood College. She was a nurse for more than 44 years. Most important to Mary was her family. Throughout the years she was involved in her children's activities. Her grandchildren brought special joy to her life. Her favorite role was that of Nana. Mary never missed their school functions or other activities. Favorite times were travelling to see family and friends, attending baseball spring training games and cheering on the Hawkeyes at football and baseball games. For more than 50 years Mary and Tom had season tickets for Hawkeye football. Mary was a member of St. Patrick's Church, the Church's Social Action Committee and University Women's Club. Mary was proud of her Irish heritage. She was co-founder of County Johnson Irish and was instrumental in organizing the annual Cedar Rapids SaPaDaPaSo parade (St. Patrick's Day Parade Society). Mary is survived by her loving husband, Tom; and their four children and eight grandchildren, Bret Hoyer of Cedar Rapids and his children, Chrissie and Braden; Kelly (John) Ward of Springville and their children, Delaney, Ellie and Joey; Kasey Hoyer of Iowa City; and Brooke (Chris) Holahan of Cedar Falls and their children, McKenna, Kate and Cullen; her siblings, Michael (Barb) Ryan of Iowa City, Dan Ryan of Solon and Jean Spurgeon of Iowa City; sisters-in-law, Marianne (Tom) Dardis, Sheila Dingrando and Sharon Dante; and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Patrick and Dennis; and brother-in-law, Tom Spurgeon. The family would like to extend their appreciation to all the caregivers at the Bird House. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.lensingfuneral.com.